Tenkazushi Ikebukuro

A typical conveyer belt sushi. This is the Ikebukuro branch of a chain that has 6 locations in Tokyo area. They have ENGLISH menu (you need to ask for it).
«Kaitenzushi» means conveyer belt sushi that goes in circles. It was once very popular in Japan, but the fad has faded and I don’t recommend this type of sushi to people visiting Japan. Why? Freshness is they factor in tasty sushi. The taste starts to degrade the minute it leaves the land of the sushi chef. Going around and around, quality keeps doing down.
There are few national chains that succeeded like Sushiro, Kappa Sushi, and Gatten Sushi. If you want to try Kaitenzushi, try one of these branches. Quality is poor, but they are super cheap.
At Tenka Sushi, I ordered intelligently. I avoided the stale sushi racing around in front of my face. I ordered one dish at a time from the chef. He gladly takes the order and one minute later, fresh sushi is served.
Well, unfortunately, freshness is not the ONLY factor that makes sushi tasty. Quality of the fish is equally important. All tuna are not the same. Not all flounder fish is the same. The prices of these seafood at the market is quite efficient. You rarely get a steal. No matter how much the person at Tsukiji loves your personality, they won’t sell you quality tuna for at a price where you could serve 2 nigiri pieces for 120 Yen.
One credit I give Tenkazuzhi is their rice. They know they cannot compete in fish quality, so they invest time and effort to ensure that their sushi rice is at a top condition. They ensure that the rice is served at the optimal temperature. Good for them, but rice just does not cover up bad tasting seafood (Neta).
PRICE: Be careful!!! Not all dishes are 120 Yen. Depending on the item, it could be 125, 185, 245, or 400 Yen. Fatty tuna (Chutoro) is 400 Yen per plate.
DINNER BUDGET: You could become full at 2000 Yen per person. This includes 500 Yen for a draft beer.
CONCLUSION: Average cheap sushi at best. No need to return. I would give them lower starts, but it was cheap, so I think 3 stars is fair.

I think this is one of Japan’s best kept secrets and truly a hidden gem.
You could spend a boat load of money to get really great sushi or you could come to Tenkazushi. We were fortunate to be living in the area and we luckily stumbled into this restaurant craving sushi.
Usually, we’d check for reviews on Unilocal or TripAdvisor but there was nothing to be found. Instead we relied on the fact we saw several locals and businessmen keep going into this very small sushi shop. So a good piece of travel advice is to do as the locals do, they know what’s actually good.
Inside, they don’t really speak English but it isn’t necessary as they lead you to a seat by the conveyer belt bar and hand you a menu filled with pictures. (see photos) You really just point and order or if you see something you fancy coming down the line just go on and grab it and they’ll tally it.
Two items that really stick out in my memory was the sweet shrimp and the salmon. Both were just buttery, fresh, and melt-​in-​your-​mouth delicious. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ would come back for that.
But what really puts Tenka in the 5 star realm is their prices. It is around 125 yen ($ 1.05) for a plate of sushi! Prices vary the more exquisite items but they all are around a dollar. That meant a family of four was able to eat well at under $ 30 for sushi. Crazy!
One thing we said after eating here is 1) follow what the locals do because they know the true gems, 2) find a way to share this place with others because it doesn’t exist on Unilocal or TripAdvisor yet.
Best budget/​conveyer belt sushi I found!